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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29656662">like the moon loves the stars (or so the stories say)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsxstars/pseuds/wordsxstars'>wordsxstars</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Study Series - Maria V. Snyder</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Meeting the Parents, One Shot, Star metaphors apparently, There's A Tag For That, Valek Icefaren needs a hug, Yelena Zaltana is in fact: a badass, and this fandom has a total of 16 works, and writing the scenes that i wish we had gotten in the book, anyway, anyway i am once again pretending i'm a published author, because I said so, for nat happy birthday i love you, i probably could have just emailed this to you, i typed out all these tags and then my computer crashed so i lost them fuck, namely this, the way that even my happy fics are lowkey sad- lets not talk about that, this is so unnecessary im sorry, we're apparently the only two people on the planet who consistently cry over them</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 22:09:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,328</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29656662</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsxstars/pseuds/wordsxstars</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“He is so much more than what the rumours could ever tell you.” Yelena says softly, and Perl looks down below the canopy of trees and slanting houses, to where Valek is standing with the horses, his silhouette shrouded with moonlight. </p><p>As they watch, his fingers run through Kiki’s mane, and he leans against her side, closing his eyes. Shadows and light blur through the trees around them, the boy-assassin at the centre of it all, and Perl thinks that Yelena might just be right. </p><p> </p><p> <em>or: it is in the past my love, and you are so full of light</em></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Valek Icefaren/Yelena Zaltana</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>like the moon loves the stars (or so the stories say)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redandblackassassin/gifts">Redandblackassassin</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>for nat, i love you &lt;3 </p><p>'everyone makes choices in life. some bad, some good. it's called living.'</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Yelena Zaltana pushes open the door of her room, she’s met with those piercing blue eyes from where Valek lounges in her bed.</p><p>To this day, she’s never understood how exactly he can bypass any sort of security measure in place, but she’s certainly not complaining.</p><p>But for once, his eyes lack the sparkling amusement that she’s come to love.</p><p>She moves closer to him slowly, concern creasing her brow as she takes a seat on the mattress, just waiting for him to speak. It isn’t often that he’s like this, something all too heavy and tired etched into the panes of his face.</p><p>Valek uncurls with a stretch, reaching for the glass left out on the table, and Yelena is pretty sure that the amber liquid isn’t coffee. She watches carefully him while he finishes the drink, raising her eyebrows in silent question until he turns to her, sigh escaping his lips.</p><p>“They’ll hate me.”</p><p>Oh, <em>oh. </em>So that’s what this is about. Her parents have been asking to meet Valek for a while, and she’d finally caved and said yes, grateful to even get the chance to share this with them.</p><p>Valek hadn’t said a lot about it at the time, had only smiled when she’d told him, and then pulled her in for a kiss.</p><p>She’d been too preoccupied with everything else to worry about whether that smile had been a real one, and now-</p><p>Yelena shakes her head, expression softening slightly at the show of this insecurity that the rest of the world will probably never see. She chooses her next words carefully, fingers trailing over the sheets to touch his own gently,</p><p>“They’re not going to hate you. They love me, despite everything, and I love you. That will be enough.”</p><p>“I’ve done a lot of bad things.” He says quietly, gaze shifting away from hers, and something in her chest aches to heal this wound, or to help in some unforeseen way. “You know that, they know that. They’ve probably heard every damn Sitian rumour that’s ever been uttered.”</p><p>His own words float back to her, alongside the memory of the blank smile that had accompanied it.</p><p>
  <em>Have you been listening to Sitian rumours?</em>
</p><p>The words had obviously been from somewhere that she hadn’t seen, and they’d had more truth in them than she’d originally thought.</p><p>“My parents,” She says quietly but not weakly, “are not ones to listen to rumours. They will like you because I would lay down my life for you. That <em>is </em>enough.”</p><p>He shoots her a look, and it’s filled with something unreadable. It’s been too long since she’s been unable to read his expression, and it scares her a little, him drawing away like this. And so she reaches up, pulling him down for a kiss until the tension seeps out of his shoulders.</p><p>“I promise you,” she says against his lips, “that they will not hate you. You’re not a bad person. Okay?”</p><p>He pulls back slightly, meeting her eyes again, searching them for something. Seemingly finding what he wants, Valek nods slowly, pressing his forehead against her own. For a long moment, they just breathe together. His scent wraps around her, the familiar smell of musk and a spice she’s never really been able to identify, along with the sweeter smell of alcohol.</p><p>“Day drinking are we?” She says with a faint smile, breaking the heaviness in the atmosphere around them. Valek laughs quietly, flicking her nose, and god, she knows she would die for that laugh, for that smile.</p><p>“It’s evening love, and can you blame me?”</p><p>Yelena hums quietly in answer, curling a strand of his hair around her finger as his eyes meet her own, the blue in them glittering with that light again, the light she loves more than anything else.</p><p>“No, but I can think of a much better use of your time.”</p><p>-</p><p>Perl Zaltana is a firm believer that her daughter is far too reckless for her own good.</p><p>She knows that she’s kept in the dark about a lot of what goes on in her life, she knows that there are things, much darker things, that Yelena hasn’t shared, perhaps never will share. And she refuses to push, won’t pry, and tries not to question it too much.</p><p>But when the Commander’s <em>assassin</em> walks into her kitchen, she can’t help but wonder if Yelena has truly lost her mind.</p><p>The boy moves like water given form, muscles shifting under the black clothes he wears. Perl is hit with a sudden clarity, realising why exactly so many people prefer to call him a shadow. His eyes are a dark blue, calculating, and bright in the dim lighting around them. There is a sort of stillness about him, etched into the slanting panes of his face.</p><p>A predator, that’s who Yelena has just bought into their home.</p><p>For the count of eight seconds, not one person in the room moves. Perl doesn’t think she’s breathing.</p><p>And then Valek smiles slightly, and the hard edges of his expression soften, smooth out. He looks younger, a spark of what she now recognises as mischief in his eyes. She wonders if the terrifying reputation and the icy exterior are more of a mask than anything else.</p><p>“Hi.” He says with another polite, half smile, and the word charming comes to mind. “It’s good to finally meet you.”</p><p>Yelena walks in next, and as her daughter steps up to his side, Valek’s face softens into something achingly soft when his gaze lands on her.</p><p>“They’re not terrorising you?” Yelena quips, nudging the assassin gently with her hip. “Shame.”</p><p>Amusement lights Valek’s eyes, and Perl decides to re-evaluate every original opinion of him she’s had in the last two minutes.</p><p>“Don’t look too down about it love, I’ve only been here about 30 seconds, there’s plenty of time left.”</p><p>Perl laughs quietly, and Valek’s eyes flick to her, something hesitant flaring to life in them. He’s nervous, she realises, a lot more nervous than he looks at a first glance. So she smiles back to try and put him at ease a little, nodding towards the armchairs at the side.</p><p>Valek moves towards one carefully, unfurling into the seat not unlike a cat, movements all restrained and refined energy. He reminds Perl of a coiled spring. Because right now, Valek may look reasonably calm, but she knows from rumours, and even her own limited assessment, that he can move faster than any of them.</p><p>But Perl pushes aside those nagging fears and focuses back on the boy in front of her, the boy her daughter has given her heart to, the boy who had saved her life. The rest of them take a seat, Yelena next to Valek. As Perl watches, her daughter reaches out and rests a hand on Valek’s wrist, a silent reassurance. There’s a tension in his shoulders, the only outward sign of discomfort, but it eases as Yelena’s fingers tap absentmindedly against his own.</p><p>“It’s wonderful to meet you too.” Perl finally says, forcing herself to relax. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”</p><p>“All good things I hope?” Valek says with a faint smile. She wonders if he knows about the rumours that follow him, around, the whispers that trail and never let up. But of course he does, no one is ever quiet about it.</p><p>
  <em>Assassin. Traitor. Murderer.</em>
</p><p>She wonders if those ghosts, those poisoned and heavy words, haunt him as much as the stories say.</p><p>Judging by the way his smile slips slightly at her hesitation, she has her answer. Yelena’s fingers go still on his hand, and Perl has another moment of clarity. She realises that there’s something in her Yelena's gaze that she recognises, a flash of fire and steel, of protectiveness. Her daughter’s eyes are steady on her own. Waiting.</p><p>“Only good things,” Perl says finally with a real laugh, and the building tension evaporates like smoke in the air. “Yelena loves you, and so that is good enough for me.” She knows that they all hear the unspoken meaning behind these words.</p><p>Relief. That’s relief that she can see in his eyes now, flickering across his features.</p><p>“Funny,” Valek says mildly after a beat, and his voice is lighter now. Young, he really is so young. “Yelena seems to be the one who starts most of the shit talking.”</p><p>Perl laughs properly then, relaxing at the humour glittering in his eyes.</p><p>“Yes, that does seem to be rather in character for her.”</p><p>Yelena shoots them both an indignant look, but under the faux annoyance, Perl knows that her daughter is relieved.</p><p>“I don’t shit talk.” She says, folding her arms across her chest, and Perl can see her biting back the urge to smile.</p><p>Valek only raises an eyebrow. “I beg to differ.”</p><p>They bicker like an old married couple, she finds herself thinking, and for a second she struggles to place the memory. But then Perl realises that the two of them remind her of herself and Esau. Which, she muses, can both be a blessing and a curse.</p><p>As if her thoughts have summoned him, she hears the familiar tread of footsteps by the door. Yelena shares a look with Valek that she doesn’t quite understand, and a moment later Esau walks in, casting a glance over the scene in front of him.</p><p>Again, there is that long moment of silence. To his credit, Valek doesn’t shift, doesn’t let the nerves show. He just holds Esau’s gaze, a polite smile on his face before he inclines his head in a show of respect.</p><p>Exhale, the tension evaporates again as Esau nods in return, moving further into the room and taking another seat, smiling warmly at the two of them. He’s adjusted a lot faster then Perl has, or maybe he’s just good at hiding it well.</p><p>“Valek, I presume?”</p><p>“Yes, thank you for having me over today, it’s good to finally meet you both, I know Yelena has certainly only said good things.”</p><p><em>He’s definitely charming</em>. Perl adds that to the list of words that she’s compiling in her head to describe Valek Icefaren. Intimidating, younger than the look in his eyes, and loves her daughter in the same way she suspects the moon loves the stars: unconditionally, eternally.</p><p>As she watches, Esau makes his way over to a seat opposite Valek, and a conversation starts up. It’s easy, uncomplicated, and completely natural. As the two of them talk, she glances at Yelena, and see’s something akin to relief, relief and love, in her eyes.</p><p>Perl is grateful, she realises, that her daughter bought Valek here. She’s glad that she’s given them the chance to see the part of him that the rest of the world would not ever get to see.</p><p>She’s grateful for that.</p><p>-</p><p>Night has long since fallen when they finally turn in to sleep. Valek excuses himself to go and check on the horses still tied in the clearing, and Perl let’s that go without a fuss, because she understands the need for a moment of quiet.</p><p>She finds Yelena on the balcony, and they’re high enough to see the clearing below, but also the stars that are scattered in the sky above them.</p><p>“Is everything okay?”</p><p>Yelena jumps a little, but relaxes once she realises who it is.</p><p>“I’m fine, just needed some air.”</p><p>“It was a nice evening.” There’s nothing but truth in the words.</p><p>“It was.” Yelena agrees, and silence falls between them again. Perl searches for something to say, something to start a conversation with, but she realises that there’s only one thing that she wants her daughter to hear, to understand.</p><p>“There’s been something restless in you since you came back.” She says, and Yelena’s eyes flick to hers. There’s no denial there, so Perl continues, releasing a breath. “All I want to do, all I’ve ever wanted to do, is to protect you. But you came here and I realised that maybe you don’t need protecting anymore. And that is-” she sighs slightly, and Yelena’s gaze is steady on her own. “That is a hard thing for a mother to realise.”</p><p>“I’m sorry.”</p><p>“No, there is no apology needed. It’s not a bad thing, it was just surprising, an adjustment. But you’ve seemed restless, even from the first moment I saw you again. Like there was a piece out of place.”</p><p>“Was?”</p><p>Perl smiles faintly, nodding towards the assassin still standing below.</p><p>“When you are with him, it’s like your mind is calm.”</p><p>Yelena huffs a laugh, leaning against the fence surrounding the balcony. “I don’t feel calm half the time.”</p><p>“That’s life unfortunately,” Perl says, amused. “But he makes you happy.”</p><p>Something on Yelena’s face sobers at the words, and her expression becomes thoughtful</p><p>“He is so much more than what the rumours could ever tell you.” Yelena says softly, and Perl looks down below the canopy of trees and slanting houses, to where Valek is standing with the horses, his silhouette shrouded with moonlight.</p><p>As they watch, his fingers run through Kiki’s mane, and he leans against her side, closing his eyes. She thinks about how his expression had softened when Yelena had walked in earlier, about the very real, very human emotions she’d seen in his eyes, the way he looks at Yelena like she has hung the stars.</p><p>Shadows and light blur through the trees around them, the assassin at the centre of it all, and Perl thinks that her daughter might just be right.</p><p>“I know.” She says into the quiet, and Yelena smiles a little at the reply, gaze lingering on the boy in the clearing below.</p><p><em>Like the moon loves the stars, </em>she thinks, and glances again at her daughter, who's full attention remains on the assassin she's given her heart to.</p><p>There is enough love in Yelena’s eyes to take Perl’s breath away.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this is what i like to call: the author didn't write a scene i wanted to read, so i did it myself, + angst and star metaphors</p><p>(you can find me on tumblr <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/wordsxstars">here</a>)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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